Blood Bonding
by Jake Caldefore
Summary: Previously called "To Fly on the Winds of Change." MI6's SAS K-Unit was sent to investigate a strange call from a lab, and they find something shocking in the dreaded Room 160. On the floor, Alex lay. The most surprising thing, though, were his wings.
1. Blessing or Curse?

Woohoo! I have Alex Rider up here now! I just don't know what to do to him…

Anyway, here's my disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider.

Meanwhile, you should listen to The Bird and the Bee. They rock!

* * *

K-Unit was sent to investigate where MI6 had received distress calls. They weren't told who sent them or why, just to get their ass out there and moving. So they did.

They had taken out the guards of the laboratory and captured the man responsible for the "experiments." They had beaten information out of him, and managed to find out where one of them were. Room 160.

When they arrived, they were in for a big shock.

A boy was lying on the floor, supposedly dead. His dirty blond hair covered his eyes, but they all knew that they were a rusty brown with a strange sense of maturity in them. His chest was bare; he only wore a pair of dirty, loose denim jeans.

The biggest shock, though, were the _wings. _They were a good 5 meters (approximately 15 feet) long when they were stretched out. They were a strange leathery substance, almost like bat wings. They were a dark onyx color, and the individual veins could be seen in the thin membrane.

"C-Cub?" choked out Fox eventually. He hadn't really cared about Cub before the mess with Point Blank.

"This is so…absurd! H-how could anyone, _anyone_, do this to any other human being! It's just so…wrong!"

Everyone was caught off-guard. Wolf, showing emotion? That was rare. They nodded solemnly in silent agreement. It was inhumane. Without another word or another glance, Eagle stalked to where Cub was and held him gingerly. He sported ugly gashes along his body, most of which were still bleeding.

"K-Unit, let's go!"

* * *

About two weeks later, Jack was cooking scrambled eggs in the kitchen. Again. The smell weaved its way up throughout the house, and into Alex's bedroom. He poked his head out to see what was going on.

"Alex! You'll starve your thin frame of yours if you don't get down here!" shouted Jack as the clatter of plates could be heard. Alex smiled and sat down at the table.

At first, Jack had been hysterical when she found out that her charge had, well, _wings_. She had been laughing about it at one point, but gradually it dawned on her that they weren't fibbing, and she grew unnaturally silent. She eventually got used to it, and had even fitted slits in his clothes with a clasp so his wings could poke out if he got cramped.

All in all, she was taking it in pretty well.

At the kitchen table, Jack talked of trivial things to brighten Alex's mood. He was not deterred. He smiled faintly at her, wishing she knew what he was going through.

_Wings…Can I really…fly…?_

Overtime, Alex had aching pains that kept him up and night that raced up and down his spine. His muscles hurt, and he had a strange hollow feeling. He was blind in one eye, ate very little, and had a terrible case of insomnia.

He stopped going to school. He hated the idea of never returning to normality, even if it were false sense of security. MI6 had said it was "for the best." Alex sure didn't think so. To never see his friends again surely wasn't for the best.

Even his friend, Tom Harris, hadn't been told. In fact, he didn't even know Alex was back; with his parents' recent divorce he was in constant turmoil.

Alex felt like a bird in a cage: doomed to live alone, and to die alone.

* * *

Hehe! I'll update if I get enough reviews! 


	2. Starting Courses

Haha! I told you I'd be back with another chapter! Send me more reviews next time.

**Gold is Power: **YES! K-Unit will be more involved, as you can see.

Thank you everyone who reviewed! I don't see why we have to put a disclaimer on every chapter though…

I don't own Alex Rider either way.

* * *

Alex sat as his desk, doodling on a notepad he found in his bookshelf. He was always finding himself drawing wings. Maybe he was a bit fascinated with himself, or at least more than he thought he would be. He was imagining of opening them up, to feel them catching the cool breeze, the jump, the gentle gliding, and the wind rushing past him… 

He sighed. It probably wasn't going to happen.

Suddenly he threw the doodling paper across the room, where it hit the wall with an audible_thump_, and stood up. He was so angry – _frustrated_ – that he couldn't talk to anybody, couldn't go outside, and couldn't be…

Normal.

Bring me back to Earth… 

He sat on the bed; his head hanging low past his knees, his wings draped around him so no one could see the tears sliding silently down his face. He was in his own bubble now, a world separated from others, a world alienated from another's, doomed to stay that way for eternity…

Jack was watching silently in the hall. One moment he was drawing calmly, the next, he was throwing things. She watched him sit on the bed, a truly forlorn thing. She couldn't help but go inside to soothe his nerves.

Alex felt a rubbing sensation in his back and relaxed visibly. It felt like heaven. His cramped muscles lost their tightness, and he felt himself sinking into the touch of Jack's hands. After a few minutes, she moved down to his lower back and kneaded the muscles. Alex just lay on the bed humming to himself.

Jack was happy to see Alex relax. He had too much stress in his life, not to mention worries to carry on his shoulders. She mentally scowled: stupid MI6 and their intentions. She'd wring their necks if they came back.

They were pulled out of their respective reveries when the doorbell suddenly rang. It echoed loudly throughout the house as Jack made her way to the door, leaving a sheepish Alex behind.

"Can I help you?" asked Jack as she opened wide the door.

"Err, yes, actually. Is Cub there?" The man who was talking was a bit short but muscular with close-cropped hair. His nose was set at a slightly strange angle, and his eyes were a foreboding dark gray. Three other men behind him looked nervous.

"Cub? Are you those, err, _playmates_ of his?" She looked skeptical.

The man fidgeted nervously and said, "Yeah, best of buddies. Can we see him?"

"I don't know." She waved them inside anyway. "He's upstairs."

It was a sight to see four bulky men trudging up the small steps. They kept tripping over each other's bootlaces and bumping into one another. Alex heard the ruckus and came out to investigate. But when he saw the SAS men from K-Unit scrambling to get up, he grimaced and walked out.

"What are you doing here?" he snapped.

The men looked up. It was still a shock for them to see Cub with giant, demonic wings worn around him like a cape. They shivered in unison.

"Cub, err, Alex," began Ben "Fox" Daniels as he stood up. "We have some very,_very,_ bad news to tell you."

"Well, if it's about some crazy scientist by the name of Dr. Howard DeDarc and his DNA changing 'remedies' and experiments, then forget it!"

Eagle pulled back in shock. DNA changing? No one had ever said anything about that… And were there other experiments?

Eagle voiced his thoughts. Alex answered that no, he was the only one there, and yes, he was injected with some reddish liquid that had a slight metallic smell to it.

"Blood…?" Alex mumbled, more to himself than anybody else. If anyone had heard him, they didn't acknowledge the fact that they had.

"Anyways," interrupted Snake, causing Alex to flinch and snap his head up, "we've got news for you. It's not good. Scorpia left a nice little _note_ that said that they're going to kill you soon. I don't know how they're planning to do it, but we've got to get you somewhere safe. Maybe MI6 headquarters –"

"No."

"Pardon?"

"You heard me perfectly well. I said 'no,' so no is no. I'm not going back to that Hellhole. They've ruined my life, and now they want me back over there to ruin it again and again. **(A/N: Reminds me of "Again and Again" by The Bird and the Bee…weird…)** There is no way that I'm ever returning. There's got to be another way."

Silence descended upon the quintet. They just stood there, four crowded on the stairs, one staring down at them from the top, mulling over what he had said. Eventually Wolf broke the silence.

"I guess there's another alternative to this situation here. Perhaps we could send you to school –"

"Are you kidding, Wolf? We can't send him back! Look at him! The poor kid's got fucking _wings_, Wolf! _Wings._ He's not normal. I mean, he never was, but this is insane! You can't be prancing around him, armed with advanced weaponry! You can't stop him from being targeted. He's going to be the talk of the whole school, then they'll tell everyone else, and eventually Scorpia or some other group of insane scientists are going to try and capture him! _Fucking wing_s," Eagle ranted.

"It's the only way," muttered Fox. "We may not like it, and it's probably not the smartest thing to do, but as long as we have him under surveillance and swear everyone to secrecy, it'll happen."

Everyone stared at him. He shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, Cub, I guess that this means that we're going back to school."

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REVIEW OR NO UPDATE! 


	3. An Artist's Ambition

Woohoo! Thanks for all the support guys! As for you people who have me on your Alert lists but aren't reviewing, I look down upon you! Actually, I'd just like to know that you're there if you review. It's just a lot simpler that way. Thanks.

Alex Rider is just a character that I fool around with. I do not own him, but I can control his mind…woo…scary…

**Keladry0alanna: **Unfortunately, I do not think I will include Maximum Ride. I'm already getting bored of my other fanfic for MR, "Learning to Fly," so I'm not sure if I want to start doing that again… I'm sorry if you're disappointed, though I might use references to the series in the future. It all depends on where the story takes me, really!

* * *

"You can't be serious!" **(A/N: Line from the movie. I just happened to remember it.)** Alex shouted. 

"C'mon Cub. You know as well as I do that you have to other choice but to leave. Scorpia is dangerous _and_ smart. We have to leave now or else something really bad might happen…" Eagle prompted while dragging a sleepy-headed Alex behind him as he made his way to the door.

"But they'll see! And how are you thinking of keeping everyone from opening their big mouths of theirs? Someone outside is bound to find out eventually!"

"Err…" he glanced at Wolf. Wolf shrugged but said, "We'll brainwash 'em. It can't be that hard. I've seen it in a lot of movies. Or maybe we'll give them amnesia like Jason Bourne."

Alex glared daggers. Sharp daggers.

Wolf gulped and said, "Don't worry, we've got it covered. Make sure no one can see your face. Have your wings cover your body, and stay as still as possible. That way, we can make sure that you won't blow your cover. We'll keep a watch on you."

"What are you planning, exactly?"

"Well, you see…the art teacher needed a, err, _model_ to show her students how to draw and shape wings, so –"

"You _what?_" screeched Alex, suddenly wide-awake. He struggled weakly in Eagles firm grip, trying in vain to pummel Wolf's form. Fox and Snake stood on the side, amused expressions on their faces. Alex suddenly lashed out with his wings and struck Eagle's face, which cause him to jerk away in surprise as his hold on Cub loosened. Not a good idea. None of K-Unit reacted quickly enough, as Wolf was suddenly tackled by a blur of black.

* * *

"God, Cub! I know what revenge is, but you don't have to give me a taste of it!" Wolf spat out angrily, now sporting a black eye and a fairly large bruise on his left cheek. Alex seemed unharmed, but everyone knew he was happy for letting his anger out finally. 

"You still shouldn't have done that. You could've at least talked to me about it first," Alex growled.

"Shove off each other and stop bickering, you two. We need to get going if we don't want to be late. Fox, get the keys to the Bentley. Eagle; get the things ready after you change into your uniform. Let's go!" Snake shouted, snapping his fingers. Everyone turned to look at him. Snake was usually the silent type, and Wolf was usually the leader. They shrugged and went to do their own thing.

* * *

After much scrambling around the house and a complaining Jack, the five tumbled into the cramped car with black-tinted windows. Alex took up a good portion of the space, and no one wanted to get smacked in the head by those wings. They set off. 

As they neared the school gates, Fox noticed that Alex was starting to tremble a little bit, and his face had paled visibly. He didn't say anything, but he knew from experience that Cub was dead nervous. He sighed and shook his head.

They snuck Alex in through the back of Brookland Comprehensive School and - after much-frustrated growls and "I told you so" comments of the like - they had managed to locate the art room, Room 160. Alex shivered.

Inside the room, it was dark like all the other classrooms at 6 in the morning. It was cold. Maybe the heater wasn't up and running yet. Alex perched himself on top of a stool and waited for the seconds to tick by…

_Tom's in Art. Maybe I'll get to see him 3__rd__ period,_ Alex thought as he stared at the clock, wings folded around him like a defensive barrier. _Maybe I can feel normal again for just a bit._

At precisely 6:48 am, the door opened and a woman in her late thirties – Mrs. Freeman – stepped into the dim room, flicking on the lights as she passed by. She wore a green turtleneck sweater, a pair of paint-splattered jeans, and brown leather boots. She was slightly overweight and wore glasses with a thin, gray frame.

"Ah! Alex. It's been a long time, has it not? I heard of your predicament and I wanted to help. Such a divine creature of unnatural beauty…" she mumbled the last part to herself.

Alex glanced warily at Wolf, Fox, Eagle and Snake. Why had they told her? He barely knew this woman, and she was the first person they told about his wings! He mentally shook his head sadly. _And they call themselves the SAS._ Then again, they were meant for war, not for making the right acquaintances. Wait, no. They _had_ to have the right acquaintances. Alex sighed, defeated. The next thing, though, made him look up in surprise.

Mrs. Freeman was taking off her boots.

Alex watched with a terrified wonder as she yanked them off and throwing them haphazardly across the dirty floor of the classroom. And, where her feet would normally be, were a pair of keratin hooves.

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REVIEW OR NO UPDATE! 


	4. Human or Not?

Sorry for the, err, wait. I know, that's an understatement, but I truly am sorry! I have French exams week… so I had to study a lot. A lot is also an understatement here. Gah! I just realized that I haven't finished my math… I need to get to the library for volunteer work…what else…? I don't know, other than the fact that I should just HURRY UP AND WRITE THIS STORY!!!

I was serious when I said I wouldn't update if you didn't review.

I just received an email saying that my disclaimers were too boring. They said that "[they would like to see a more creative approach to doing the disclaimer, without using dialogue." So here goes! (Copylefted, by the way. You can only use it with my permission…)

Disclaimer: Have you ever heard of the word "lawyer" before, used in the same sentence as the terms "court" and "sue the pants off you?" Yeah? Well, see here, I'm really trying to _avoid_ that right now. (That's why I don't own Alex Rider. Anthony's team of lawyers would take it to court and he'd sue the pants off me.)

* * *

"W-what?" It was all that Alex managed to get out. Quite impressive compared to K-Unit's incredulous expressions, except for one smug face…

"Wolf! Did you…?" Fox turned towards the bulky man, face still smothered in shock, with a tint of fury hidden inside. K-Unit were so close, they were like brothers, or cousins, in Wolf and Eagle's case. But they always shared important details with one another, no matter how dangerous it was. The rest of K-Unit had their heads turned away in ignorance and as an act of betrayal.

"Yes," he muttered and looked away, ashamed.

"You lying no-good piece of shit!" cried Snake. In his anger, his hand had accidentally knocked over a small clay figurine that fell to the ground with a dull _thunk_. He didn't bother to pick it up. His face didn't hold a single trace of the shock it had held a few moments before; he was seething.

Alex, meanwhile, was confused. _Hooves? Hooves? How could I not have seen this before? _Alex thought back to when he had come to this class to wait for Tom. He distinctly remembered seeing the teacher walk with a strange limp, and she always wore large bottomed boots, long pants, and thick socks, even in the summertime.

She didn't mind as he shuffled warily to get a better look. In fact, she beckoned him closer with a finger as she reached out one hand to touch the leathery hide of his wings. No words were exchanged, though they knew perfectly what the other wanted to do. It was like a trade. Alex wanted to see the hooves, and Mrs. Freeman wanted to see the wings.

Alex squatted down awkwardly, letting his large wings fan out as he bent over to examine the teacher's hooves. They were shaped like those of a horse's, and had a rough, dark surface. Fur covered the top part of the hoof, and slowly spread up the legs, becoming less and less dense, coming to a stop at the calves.

He was just about to touch them when he suddenly jerked back.

The contact to his skin was freezing. A growl rippled through his chest as he bared his teeth, animal-like fury coursing through him. His wings were splayed outwards to their fullest, knocking over a couple of stools in the process. Mrs. Freeman backed away, frightened half to death as Alex prepared to lunge towards her…

"Cub, no!"

Alex's head whipped around, only to come face to face with Wolf, now carrying a tranquilizer in his hand as he scrabbled to inject the contents into Alex's arm. Alex whimpered, survival instincts taking over, and curled himself up into a ball and wrapping his wings around him as tightly as possible. He tried to knock the hypodermic needle out of Wolf's hands.

Too late. The fluid was now in his body.

"It's okay, Cub. It's gonna be all right. Just relax… No one's trying to hurt you right now…" he heard faintly from Fox. He started to feel cold, like someone had opened the door. His breathing became heavier and heavier as he began to feel light-headed. His eyelids drooped, but he fought to stay awake. He struggled, but it was in vain.

"He should be out for about seven minutes…small dose…" he heard snippets, until he stopped hearing anything all together, and succumbed to the darkness.

* * *

Alex woke up, only to find that he couldn't see anything. It was just pitch black. He reached out with his hands and felt something slide lightly past his fingers.

"Ben?" he called out uncertainly. He was sitting against a hard surface, a jacket draped loosely over him. He heard some footsteps and whispers, but otherwise it was silent.

He heard someone shuffle towards him.

"I'm here. Don't worry, Alex." He seemed wary of him.

Alex's hands scrabbled around his eyes, only to find a blindfold wound tightly around his head. He tried to take it off, but Snake hurried over and grabbed his hand to prevent them from letting him see.

"Why did you blindfold me?" shouted Alex angrily. He stood up unsteadily and staggered forward. Fox tried to help him, but he brushed him off. "Why did you do that?" he repeated.

"Cub, there were safety precautions that –" started Wolf.

"What_safety precautions?_"

"We don't want you to potentially hurt someone. We'll probably have to put you in one of the storage closets and lock you in there. That way we can avoid Scorpia, students, teachers, and any other faculty members that might snoop around. You'll be fine in a closet. We'll be guarding it."

Alex was beyond listening. Once the first sentence flew out of Wolf's mouth, Alex felt deeply offended and hurt, not to mention _angry_. MI6 was pushing him around _again_, and he couldn't take it anymore.

"Oh, so that's it? What am I, some sort of wild animal that deserves to be locked up in a cage? A savage _beast_ that might hurt somebody? Let me set you straight and say that I most _certainly_ am not an animal, and I do not appreciate the fact that you are going to treat me like one!"

Silence descended like a plague. Alex was breathing heavily, his sudden outburst had left his mind reeling, along with others. He heard the steady _clip-clop_ of hooves as Mrs. Freeman walked across the tile floor. They came to a stop next to him and he felt a gently hand touch his shoulder.

"I'm disgusted by you lot. You call yourselves men, and yet you act less human than me or Alex." And with that, she strode off to some other part of the spacious room to retrieve the small figure that Snake had knocked down.

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REVIEW OR NO UPDATE 


	5. Drowing in Insanity

Wow! Thanks for all the messages regarding the poll! Now, because of many naggers, I'm going to make my chapters longer. Probably not by much, but I'm trying.

Disclaimer:

* * *

Alex stood still, swaying slightly. Not a sound was heard except for the slow shuffle of Mrs. Freeman. It seemed like the world was holding their breath…waiting…waiting…

Waiting for what?

A sudden cough made Alex jump in surprise. It sounded like an explosion. It echoed around the room, swirling in circles before dimming to a small throb. _Thump. Thump._ Wolf's footsteps were louder than he thought. "Cub…" He sounded sad, ashamed almost.

Silence.

Wolf cleared his throat, and tried again. "Look, Cub… About what I said… I'm real sorry." Seeing that Alex didn't respond, he grasped at straws. "Well, what I said, that's not what I really meant to say, about you maybe hurting someone and locking you up. What I really wanted to say that your eye –"

"What?" His eye? He groped at the blindfold, tugging it down sharply over his face, fumbling with the knot in the back, hopelessly scratching at it in a move to take it off.

"Alex! Don't take it off!"

Too late. The blindfold was now sitting on the floor, discarded. Alex's head was bowed, his shoulders slumped in defeat. He turned away, paused, and walked towards a stool from earlier being scraped and pulled across the tile floor. He did that now, and sat on it. K-Unit watched as he suddenly dropped his head in his arms and, resting them on the table, did something unbelievable.

He began to cry.

* * *

They weren't full, blown-out sobs with snot dripping everywhere and tears leaking like faulty pipes, no. His shoulders were shaking, almost like he was laughing at some cruel joke, and tears trickled down his scratched face. No sound escaped his lips as he burrowed his head in his arms in misery, wings draped like curtains around him, hiding himself.

Wolf looked down, ashamed. Eagle and Snake looked to the side, avoiding the others' gazes. Fox made a move to help, moving to stand nearby were Alex sat. Mrs. Freeman walked forward and sat next to him, stroking his back between the wings and rubbing his shoulders in small circles, murmuring nonsense into his ear in hushed tones. Quite the motherly figure.

Eventually, after a grueling seven minutes, he calmed down a bit and sat, taking deep breaths, trembling slightly.

Not as calmed down as they thought. He suddenly jumped up, sending the stool clattering away as he screamed out in frustration, pulling at his hair as he dropped to his knees. "No, no, no, no, no… Why is it always _me_?" he shrieked in rage to the ceiling. He began to sob, hiccupping.

After awhile, he truly _did_ calm down and just sat gazing forlornly at the tiled linoleum floor he was sitting on.

"Cub…" Snake called gently. He was squatting beside the boy. Eagle was standing behind him while Fox, Wolf and Mrs. Freeman were discussing something in private. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Why? It doesn't matter. Talking won't change anything either way. It won't bring back what I've lost. It won't take back what I've gained. Why would it matter?" he replied bitterly.

Eagle and Snake shared a look. The boy was on the verge of insanity. Screaming and talking in riddles, that is…

"It helps, Cub. Talking helps. It'll ease the pain a little, and it'll help us understand –"

"_Understand?_ You can't just _understand_. You can't even _explain_ this! How will you possibly know what I'm going through just by the words that come out of my mouth?" He was seething with rage.

"Cub –"

"Do you know how I felt, sitting alone in a cage in a dark room, knowing that no one would come find me, knowing what secrets the darkness held? How I felt when that…that _man_ came after me? How I woke up to find…_these_?" He motioned with his hands towards his wings. "It was terrible. No words can describe what I've been through, and yet here you are, thinking that maybe you can!" He snorted. "And now…?" Here he sighed, utterly defeated, sad even. "Now…

Whose cruel joke was it to make me _blind_?"

Everyone was still. Wolf and Fox had heard his sudden outburst and turned to look at him.

The last word rang throughout the classroom. It was eerie.

"Hey, Cub –"

Fox was cut off as they heard a car screeching to a halt as the engine stopped. A door was slammed shut. The jingling of keys and the whistling…it could only be one person.

Elias "Eli" Moorfeld.

No one knew why, but not one single person liked him. He was loud, obnoxious, nosy, and most of all, annoying. His wife often wondered why she even married him in the first place. Fortunately, he didn't have any kids.

He was a one of the janitors, usually found dozing on the job. He wasn't skinny, but he wasn't fat either. His receding hairline revealed a rather shiny forehead. His nose was often rubbed raw and looked like a strawberry. He sweated a lot.

Immediately, everyone's reaction was to turn to the clock. 7: 12 a.m. School didn't start 'til 8:05.

"What is that dastardly man _doing_?" growled Mrs. Freeman. The group decided to turn off the lights, close the blinds and hide until the man left, for clearly he was heading their way.

They managed to squeeze into a supply closet, close the door, and lock it right before the jingling of Mr. Moorfeld's keys in the door. They held their breath as they heard him whistling, the old door protesting loudly as he clumped his way around the stools and tables that cluttered the classroom.

Wolf took a look at their situation: he, Eagle, and Fox were huddled together in the closet, Mrs. Freeman standing perilously on a box, and Cub was hanging from the surprisingly sturdy light fixture, clinging on for dear life. Outside the locked door was a man with keys who could bust open the closet and find a kid with bat wings and a woman with horse hooves, along with some armed personnel.

Even Eagle would have realized that they were free kill.

* * *

I had fun writing this chapter! Hope you liked it, and the length! Look at the length!

Insert much reviews please!


	6. April Fools!

This isn't a part of the storyline

This isn't a part of the storyline. PAY NO HEED TO THIS "CHAPTER!"

This is just an April Fools joke. The real story will be up and running soon, don't worry!

1000 Words!

* * *

About an hour had passed and the old janitor had hastily ran out of the room upon hearing the school bell trill loudly. No one knew what he was doing in the classroom.

The group that was huddled in the closet slowly eased themselves from their hiding spot and peeked outside. The sounds of laughing and clanging of chains echoed through the spacious room like a ghost on its haunting.

Alex swung himself down from the light fixture as the others scattered out of the cramped space. He shifted awkwardly as his wings banged loudly against the wooden frame of the door.

Five minutes 'til the next bell would ring, signaling the start of class.

Shit.

"Mrs. Freeman…?" Alex started, but was cut off when Eagle tripped over a table leg and came crashing down on top of a pissed off Snake.

He cleared his throat, eyeing the tall man as he unsteadily stood up and apologized like the devil was after his mouth. "What do I do?"

She didn't seem to hear him, seeing as she kept pulling her boots on.

"Mrs. Freeman?"

No answer. This time, pushing stools back into their proper positions.

"Mrs. Freeman!"

She brushed some clay off the table.

"_Mrs. Freeman!_"

She spun around surprised. "Uh, uh, yes?"

Sighing, Alex dragged a hand over his face trying to keep his expression clean. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Ah, yes! Being locked into a cramped room with four grown men can make you forget things." She chuckled. "Why, grab a stool from the corner of the room and make yourself comfortable."

"Err, what about my, ah, _wings_?"

"Oh, why, yes yes! Just fold them as close as you can to yourself and take this," she picked up a fairly large cloak, "and drape it over your shoulders. It should hide them." She abruptly turned back to tidying up the room last minute.

Alex did as she told, and just as he was about to put on the cloak, disaster struck.

The bell rang.

* * *

A tidal wave of students crashed through the door, sounding like a herd of cattle, braying and snorting included. Laughing, gossip, the slap on the back…that's what Alex yearned for dearly. But he knew better. Now, it would never happen.

The noise abruptly stopped.

They saw the always-absent Alex hunched over, dark onyx bat wings jutting from his back, a large, brown cloak hanging limp from his hands. His eyes were trained on the crowd, head turned towards them, but his body never moved. He didn't do anything.

"A-Alex…?" chocked out a small voice from the edge of the group. It was Tom. The flu had left his voice higher-pitched and scratchier. Alex half-turned, pivoting on his feet so his torso was twisted towards the large crowd. Tom rushed to his friend. In his mad scrambling, he had pushed through several people and knocked Alex over.

He yelped as a sharp pain in his back stabbed him. He didn't stop Tom from whispering questions to him. He slowly rose, rolling his shoulder back to ease the pain.

"Oh…my…_God…_" spluttered someone. Mrs. Freeman was making her way towards the dazed students and pushed them in.

"Alex! Are you listening to me?" That was Tom. He swiveled his head to look at his friend.

"I –"

He was cut off as multiple cracks rang through the air. The kids watched as Alex stood completely still, his eyes a bit cloudy. Blood slowly spread from his shirt. It trickled from the corners of his mouth. He collapsed.

K-Unit had sprinted over once they heard the shots. Fox looked at Cub's limp form, repeating the word "shit" over and over again. He checked his breathing. Gone. Pulse? Dead. He sighed, and looked over his wounds. He had received two bullets to his stomach, one to his shoulder, and one had grazed his thigh. He softly stroked his hair, his wings, anything his hand rested on. He cried softly to himself. He stood up.

"Who shot him?" he shouted through tears. He knew Alex better than most, with the exception of Jack. "Who?"

"Fox, come here. Look at this," Wolf said quietly. He was standing over Alex's limp body, smoothing out creases in the small piece of paper he clutched with his hands.

Fox peered over his shoulder, reading the contents, trying in vain to keep his emotions under control. Suddenly he gasped.

Tom had been holding Alex's limp hand (A/N: NOT GAY) in his, and was looking over him when he spotted something sticking out of his pants pocket. Curious, he plucked it out. He read it and gasped. He called one of the armed men over and showed him.

Snake and Eagle had returned from their frantic search for the shooter, only to come back empty handed. Spotting Tom's, Wolf's, and Fox's sad faces, they guessed something bad had happened.

"What is it?" asked Eagle, not sounding silly or stupid.

"He wrote…he wrote a…" Tom stopped, crying mid-sentence. Many of the students had fainted, cried, or thrown-up.

Snake turned to Wolf, as Fox and Eagle had tried to comfort the frail boy. "What did…what did he write?"

"He wrote a…will."

That meant that he knew he was going to die.

He stood, deep in thought, tears drying on his cheeks, as Wolf made another discovery.

A gun.

Alex Rider, one week before his fifteenth birthday, had killed himself.

* * *

Once again, APRIL FOOLS!!

This isn't part of the storyline! (Well, part of it is.) THIS IS JUST FOR FUN!

Feeling sad about his death? Feel free to leave a review.


	7. A or B?

Gah! No updates! So sorry!** EXTREMELY IMPORTANT! Please read!!**

Well, looking at poll results (you can still vote guys! Just go to my profile and it's at the top!) I can certainly tell that you guys really want a Maximum Ride crossover from me. So, I'm making you guys all a deal.

So, if you've looked at the previous A/N's, you should know that I told **kelandry0alanna** that I probably would not make this story a Maximum Ride crossover.

HOWEVER, I think I'm going to change my mind and say, to hell with it!

So, my faithful readers, your vote counts drastically in this story's plot! You can vote for either:

A) Yes! Please make this a Maximum Ride crossover!

B) No, I would like you to continue the original plot instead of rewriting another one.

Okay, that's all! Thank for your time guys! YOU ROCK!! (Eh, thanks for all the story alerts, favs, and reviews!)

Keep writing,

Jake


	8. Important

This is Monica, Jake's friend. Jake asked me to contact everyone. Jake is very ill and he says that he has other duties to fulfill before he can continue with his other activities.

Jake asks you all not to worry about him, though I think everyone should pitch in and help cheer him up by sending him a message or picture. I'm sure he'd really appreciate your guys' help.

Pray while we're still here,  
Monica R.


End file.
